Women do cope better with the death of spouse

Widowed men struggle to live on their own

Women cope better than men after losing their spouse, research suggests.

Men whose partner had died were more likely to become frail in old age than those whose spouse was still alive, a study found.

But widows were less at risk of fading health than widowers.

however, in a surprise finding, they were also less likely to go downhill than women whose partners were still alive.

The researchers said this shows that marriage affects the sexes differently – suggesting that married women may be more likely to take on a care-giver role, while men become reliant on their spouses. Women therefore might feel less worn out once they’re on their own, while men will miss being cared for.

The findings go against previous research that has suggested that marriage is good for both men and women’s health.

Lead author Dr Caterina Trevisan, of the University of Padova in Italy, said a wife may bring benefits for men by managing the house and looking after them, while women are ‘more likely to feel stressed and find their role restrictive and frustrating’.

She said: ‘Since women generally have a longer lifespan than men, married women may also suffer from the effects of caregiver burden, since they often devote themselves to caring for their husband in later life.’

Dr Trevisan added: ‘Widows cope better than widowers with the stress deriving from the loss of a partner, with a significant increase in the risk of depression only in the latter.’

She suggested this is ‘probably because they have greater coping resources and are better able to express their emotions.’ The researchers had set out expecting to show that elderly people who were widowed or who had never wed were more at risk of frailty than their married peers – so they were surprised by the results.

They followed almost 2,000 Italians over the age of 65 for four and a half years.

To assess frailty, hospital doctors monitored any unintentional weight loss, feelings of exhaustion, walking speed, balance and hand grip strength.

The researchers also recorded information about the participants’ education, levels of exercise, monthly income, smok- ing and drinking habits, as well as their marital status – which included widows, widowers and those who had never married, but not divorcees.

Women who had lost a spouse were almost a quarter (23 per cent) less at risk of being frail than those who were still married, the study, published in Journal of Women’s health, found.

Widowers on the other hand were around one and a half times more likely to be frail than their married peers.

The results for those who had never married mirrored those for widowed participants, again suggesting marriage affects the sexes differently.

Bachelors were almost four times more likely than married men to become frail.

Single women experienced far less discomfort than bachelors, with greater job satisfaction and a lower risk of social isolation. These women, like widows, were also less likely to become frail than married women.

Dr Trevisan said: ‘Sociological studies have suggested unmarried status is more disadvantageous for men than for women, and marriage protects the male gender more than the female one.’

The findings support previous research that suggested marriage was more likely to make women feel stressed than men.

‘Better able to express emotions’